Chain-making machine.



Patented Jan. 2, I900. D. ROCHE.

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 27, 1899.)

3 sheetseSheet I.

(No Model.)

Mmmmst No. 640,59l. Patented Ian. 2, 1900.

n ROCHE CHAIN MAKING MACHINE.

(Appl t n mam 27 1899) 3 Sheets-8heet 2.

(No Model.)

,ZJYVENIOR @M 79 @7 m WW GZWE/ (FEM No. 640,59l. Patented Jan. 2, i900.

D. ROCHE.

CHAIN MAKING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 27, 1899) (No Model.) 3 Sheets$hee't 3.

m: uoRms warms co, norouTua. WASHINGTON n, c.

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UNITED STATES PATEN FFICE.

DAVID ROCHE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TlVO-THIRDS TO ALBERT SCIIEUER AND JOHN A. SANDERS, OF SAME PLACE.

CHAIN-MAKING MACHENE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,591, dated January 2, 1900.

Application filed March 27, 1899. Serial No. 710,587- (No model.)

To all 1077,0701 it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID ROCHE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chain-Making Machines, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accom panying drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine adapted to perform the operations of making a chain from stock fed into the machine.

The machine includes means for cutting off a bar of metal, for bending it into a loop through a previous link, for heating the ends of this loop and Welding them into a link, and for turning the link into proper position to receive the rod for the next link.

The invention consists in the combinations of the means I employ for performing these functions or material parts of them, as hereinafter explained, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, which clearly disclose my invention, Figure 1 is a plan. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through the center of the chain-trough. Fig. at is a horizontal section on the line a 4: of Fig. 8. Figs. 5 and 6 are details in plan of the reciprocating slide and the chain-trough, respectively. Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the shears, feed wire, and wire guide. Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan of the forward end of the chain-trough and one of the formers, and Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line 10 10 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is an end elevation.

The same letters of reference designate the same parts in each figure.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents the bed of the machine. A trough B, adapted to carry the chain being formed, is pivoted to this bed by means of a pin 1), extending through ears I) on the under side of the trough and an car 0. extending upward from the frame. The chain, which is designated C, is formed in this trough and extends downward through an opening 71 in the base thereof and takes into pockets d in a bullwheel D, which, being rotated by an intermittent movement, as hereinafter explained, draws the chain along.

Sliding between guides a a on the upper side of the bed is the bifurcated slide E, which takes around the trough B. At its forward end this slide carries a pair of formers c and e, the former 6 being adapted to cooperate and form a bevel shear with a stationary block F.

G represents the rod of stock from which the chain is made. It lies in contact with the negative rod N and the positive liquid 0 of the liquid electric forge and is heated, and it is then fed forward into the machine, as hereinafter explained, passing through a suitable guide H and between the shear-blades F and e and abuts against the toe e on the forward end of the former c, resting at this free end on the web 6 The last link completed in the chain is held in an approximately vertical position by the beveled block 11 which chokes the chain-trough, and thus when the stock is fed forward it passes through the last link.

On the rear end of the slide E is a roller 6. This is engaged by a cam j, carried on the main shaft J. As this shaft revolves the cam forces the slide forward, the first effect of which is to shear off from the stock on a bevel material for the new link. By the continued forward movement of the slide the formers bend the stock forward and slide along in contact with it, forming it into a U shape or loop around the inside former, which is the nose 2 of a pivoted lever I. As soon as this takes place another cam j engages with the roller of a bell-crank lever K, the other end of which is connected with the slide and draws the slide backward from the new loop, which is held by the forward end 17 of a spring b carried by the trough. Now two lateral formers P are forced inward against the ends of the link by reason of the cams m on the shaft M (driven through a sprocket-chain M from the shaft J) engaging with the rollers g on the pivoted arms Q, the forward ends of which are sooketed in the formers P. This bends in the ends of the loop into the shape of a link, one beveled end lying above the other,

and the nose i of the lover I filling the space within the link and causing the proper formation thereof. As soon as the cams m pass off of the rollers g (which latter roll on the top of the bed-plate) the formers P are released, and they are drawn away from the link under the influence of the springs R. A cam j 2 on the main shaft now acts on the roller 2' of a bell-crank lever L and moves the other arm of that lever forward. This arm carries a roller Z, which normally engages with the upper edges of the trough B and holds it in a horizontal position. As soon as this roller has passed off from the trough, however, the latter swings down by gravity into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. In this position the trough contacts with the rod N, which is the negative pole of a second and more intense liquid electric forge, the positive of which is saline water 0 in a tank 0 This heats the ends of the link to a welding heat, and by the time this temperature is reached the cam j on the main shaft engages with the roller Zand brings the roller Z back onto the trough, swinging it up into the horizontal position. This swinging of the trough away from active position enables the link to be heated very hot without injuring the forming or welding tools, as would be liable to result if the link were heated at the operative position. The cam-roller m on the disk m on the shaft M now engages with the projection 8, extending from the jaw S and forces that jaw, together with the jaw S pivoted to it, forward. The pivot S of these jaws terminates in bosses S which carry slides S taking into grooves in the block S The lower jaw is guided by the tongue S taking into a second groove S in one of the blocks S The jaws being held open by the spring S as they come forward take above and below the overlapping ends of the link being formed. At the same time the front corner of the upper jaw S strikes the inclined projection t" on the lever I and raises said lever and also moves it to the rear out of the way, the lever being slotted at its pivot at t to allow such movement and the bridge c on the slide E being out of the way when the latter is in its rear position. As soon as the jaws S S have come into position above and below the new link the roller m on the disk m engages with the tappet S, which is pivoted to the lower jaw S and has an upwardly-extending bell-crank wiperarm S This wiper-arm engages with the rear end of the upper jaw and brings the noses of the jaws together, squeezing the link between them and making a perfect weld. When the jaws release the complete link by reason of the wiper-arm swinging backward, a camj on the main shaft engages the rolleru on the rocker-arm U, from which extends the tappet-arm a. This arm is thus depressed onto the roller c carried by the lever V, which carries a pawl 0, adapted to engage with pins d, projecting from the side of the bull-wheel D, into the pockets of which the chain takes. The newly-completed link is thus drawn into the trough, and in this movement it assumes an approximately vertical position by reason of the beveled block b in the trough (which has a face something the shape of a plowshare) and the spring which bears down on the opposite side of the link; and the preceding link, which is approximately vertical, passes behind the beveled block b and drops back into a horizontal position. This spring b (which during the dip of the trough holds the link in place) moves down during the withdrawal of a new link far enough to assist in turning, but not enough to obstruct the beveled end of the feed-wire entering for the new link. The newly-formed link thus simply tips up a little less than ninety degrees in passing the beveled block and then drops back again, and the play in the chain prevents the vertical or horizontal position of the link on the bull-wheel from interfering with the proper position of those at the forward end of the trough. As soon as the cam j passes off of the roller the weight n on the end of the lever V returns it to its normal position, and the pawl 2; passes over into engagement with the next pin (2. Now a pawl m on the disk in of the shaft M engages with the rear end of the bell-crank lever T and forces it aside, audits forward end engages the projection 8, extending from the upper jaw S and this returns the parts to their normal position. At the beginning of the next rotation a fallj in the crown-camj on the main shaft comes opposite the roller w on the lever .V, and this lever is swung on its axis by the weight 20 depending from it. This movement causes a pawl 10 which engages with a ratchet 3 on a shaft Y, to rotate that shaft a portion of a revolution. On the forward end of this shaft is a grooved roller 11 ,which, cooperatin g with the pair of grooved rollers 1 below it, operates to feed the rod G into the machine. The movement of the le* ver 7 is such that just enough stock is fed forward to make a complete link, and then the cam j gradually returns the roller w, and the ratchet mechanism remains stationary until the next revolution.

The liquid 0, constituting the positive pole of the forge, which first heats the rod, is contained in a tank 0 which has depending from it a pipe 0, which has smallorilices 0 leading into a larger tank 0. Tater is continuously supplied to the tank 0 byaspigot 0 from a tank 0 and this water passes partly over the edge of the tank O and partly down through the pipe 0 into the tank 0. This causes a continuous circulation of the water in the tank 0 keeping it cool; while the openings 0 are small enough, so that the water from the spigot 0 will keep the tank 0 continually overflowing. A pump 0 returns the water from the tank 0 to the tank 0 The tank 0 of the other electric forge has its fluid kept at the proper level by occasional additions from the supply-tank O" by the spigot O.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a chain-making machine, the combi nation with mechanism for bending stock into a loop, and mechanism for welding the ends of said loop, of mechanism for varying the distance between the loop and the weldingtools, and means for heating the ends of the loop while it is comparatively distant from the welding-tools between the bending and welding operations, substantially as described.

2. In a chain-making machine, mechanism for passing a bar of metal through a link, mechanism for bending it into a loop in this position, mechanism for bending the ends of the loop together, mechanism for moving the loop away from the welding mechanism, means for then heating the ends of the loop to a welding heat, and mechanism for then bringing the heated loop to the welding mechanism, in combination with such welding mechanism, substantially as described.

3. In a chain-making machine, the combination of mechanism forholdinga link, means for heating a bar, mechanism for moving the heated bar into the link, mechanism for bending said bar int-o a loop, mechanism for completing the loop into a new link, and mechanism which comes into action just preceding the completing mechanism and is adapted to separate the loop and such completing mechanism and again return them, and means for heating such newly-formed loop while it is thus separated from the completing mechanism, substantially as described.

4. The combination with mechanism for forming a loop of metal in the end of a chain, mechanism for welding together the ends of said loop, a liquid electric forge, and mechanism for dipping the ends of the loop into the liquid between the forming and welding operations, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a liquid electric forge of a trough adapted to carry a chain with a partly-formed link, means for giving said trough a movement to and from said forge whereby said partly-formed link is heated, and means for welding the partly-formed link, substantially as described.

6. In a chain-making machine, in combination, a trough adapted to hold aportion of the chain, means for establishing a loop for a new link in the end link of the trough, mechanism for moving the trough out of its normal position, an electric forge into which the loop passes in such movement whereby the loop becomes heated, and mechanism for welding the loop, substantially as described.

7. In a chain-making machine, in combination, a pivoted trough, a liquid electric forge beneath the same, said trough being adapted to carry a chain and a new link being formed and swing it downward to said forge whereby the new link becomes heated, substantially as described.

8. The combination, in a machine formaking chain, of a pivoted trough, adapted to carry a portion of the chain, a liquid electric forge, means for causing said trough to move to and from said forge, means for moving material for a new link into a link in said trough, an inside former, a pair of outside formers adapted to bend the new material against the inside former into a loop, and means for welding together the ends of the loop, substantially as described.

9. In a chain-making machine, the combination of a pivoted trough adapted to carry a portion of the chain, mechanism for feeding the material for a new link into a link in said trough, a pair of formers, means for causing said formers to bend the new material into a loop, and heating means so located that the pivoted trough may swing the link being formed thereto, substantially as described.

10. In a chain-making machine, the combination of a trough adapted to carry a portion of the chain, mechanism for feeding the material for a new chain into a link in said trough, a bifurcated slide lying on opposite sides of the trough, rigid formers carried on said slide, and means for forcing said slide forward whereby the formers bend the new material into a loop, substantially as de scribed.

11. In a chain making machine, in combination, means for supporting a chain, means for moving material for a new link into the last-completed link, mechanism for bending such material into a loop, mechanism for bending the ends of the loop upon each other, mechanism for squeezing them together, and means for heating the ends of the loop during the operation and just preceding to their being squeezed together, substantially as described.

12. In a chain making machine, in combination, a trough B adapted to carry a portion of a chain, a beveled block 1) near one end thereof, and a spring-arm 1) adapted to bear on one side of a link being made whereby as the link is withdrawn it is turned about its axis approximately ninety degrees, substantially as described.

13. The combination, with means for holding a link being formed in the end of a chain, of a liquid electric forge, mechanism for moving said link into said forge, and a pair of pivoted jaws, and mechanism for advancing the same until they stand on opposite sides of the new link, and for then bringing them together, to weld said link, substantially as described.

1%. The combination, in a chain-making machine, of two liquid electric forges, one adapted to give more intense heat than the other, mechanism for feeding the material heated by the less intense forge into a link of a chain, mechanism for bending said material into a link form, mechanism for bringing it into the other forge to heat its ends to a weldingheat, and a mechanism for squeezing said ends together to weld them, substantially as described.

15. In a chain-makin g machine, the combi- IIO nation of means for holding the chain already made, a pair of formers adapted to bend a rod extending through the last link in the chain into a loop shape, an inside former adapted to stand Within such loop, a pair of lateral formers adapted to bend the ends of the loop together to make a link shape, and a pair of jaws adapted to pinch together said ends, there being means for heating said ends to a welding heat, substantially as described.

16. In a chain-making machine, in combination, mechanism for feeding forward stock, a rod with which said stock engages, a tank containing a liquid, said rod and liquid forming the terminals of a liquid electrical forge whereby said stock is heated, means for cut ting off said stock, and means for forming a link out of said cut-off portion, substantially as described.

1'7. In a chain-making machine, in combination, a trough adapted to carry a portion of the chain, a beveled block 11 near one end thereof, and mechanism for drawing the chain along the trough whereby the beveled block turns the link at that end aboutits axis, substantially as described.

18. In a chain-making machine, in combination, a pivoted trough adapted to carry a chain, a lever L adapted to bear on said trough and hold it in normal position, mechanism for actuating said lever to move it away from the trough whereby the trough moves into another position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

D AVID R0 CHE.

W'itnesses:

ALBERT II. BATES, PHILIP E. KNowL'roN. 

